President Joe Biden may be a lame-duck president, but he spent Sunday saving the lives of two birds.
Annual implementation The White House Biden pardoned his two lucky turkeys one last time: Peaches and Blossom, who are about 17 weeks old, from Minnesota, the National Turkey Federation announced at a press conference on Sunday.
The two names are intended as a tribute to Biden’s home state of Delaware and its state flower, the peach blossom.
“The peach blossom also symbolizes strength, which is obviously appropriate today,” Biden said during the pardon ceremony.
Biden began the ceremony by joking about the large crowd that showed up to witness two turkeys get a second chance at life.
“They’re telling me there’s 2,500 people here today … seeking clemency,” Biden joked.
Federation president John Zimmerman and his 9-year-old son Grant raised and presented the birds Sunday.
As the President prepared to pardon Peaches, the bird swooped down from the stage.
– What did you say, Peach? asked the president.
“Peaches is here begging for the last minute,” he told the crowd.
Peach weighs about 41 pounds, likes to eat hot food topped with sweets and lives by the motto “keep calm and eat,” Biden told the crowd at the event.
Blossom’s goal is to travel to all 10,000 Minnesota lakes and live by the motto “no bird game.”
Peaches and Blossom stayed in a luxurious room at the Willard Hotel in Washington on the eve of the pardon.
National Turkish Federation posted photos the hairy couple in the hotel and even Get Ready With Us video two come to turkey-proofed habitats.
President Harry Truman started the turkey pardon tradition 77 years ago in 1947, when the Turkish National Federation presented him with a turkey that he had saved from food.
Following their pardon, the two turkeys will become agriculture ambassadors and retire on a farm in southern Minnesota, the National Turkey Federation said Sunday.
“Maybe they’ll go to a Minnesota hockey game or a football game, but their home base will be in Waseca, Minnesota,” Zimmerman said. “But they are willing to travel if the need arises.”
Biden ended the ceremony on a more serious note, telling the audience that he and the first lady will attend a “Day of Friendship” dinner with the Coast Guard in Staten Island on Monday night to thank them for their service and sacrifice, such as Biden’s late son Beau. Biden who died of brain cancer
“Let’s take this moment from our busy lives to focus on what matters most, our families,” Biden said.